


Pro Memoria

by KaiserKris



Series: Homestuck One-Shots, Vol. I [2]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Character Death, F/M, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-05-17 13:05:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14832801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaiserKris/pseuds/KaiserKris
Summary: So I was listening to the song 'Pro Memoria' by Ghost and this fic started writing itself?It's about a dying Dave being consoled by his matesprit Aradia.





	Pro Memoria

Dave kind of hated Bro’s shitty parties with Bro’s shitty friends and normally, he made himself scarce, hiding upstairs in his room and pretending that he was actually talking to his friends, even though it was all just on Pesterchum. But for some reason, he’d decided to brave being downstairs, maybe because he kind of wanted a snack. Bro and his friends would go hard on the shitty flavoured vodkas, but there was usually some apple juice for Dave to nab. He could probably get booze if he wanted, but he didn’t.

 

Alcohol made people stupid and their reflexes dull. The same with weed. The funny thing is that, although Bro’s friends would do all kinds of weird drugs, Bro didn’t. Bro never discouraged it, but he didn’t partake and nobody ever seemed to have a problem with that. Dave supposed that was actually pretty awesome. But he knew Bro felt the same way he did. Why would you intentionally dull your mind and your reflexes like that?

 

Especially when you frequently had smuppet asses to dodge and surprise strifes.

 

But when you pass, Bro, he gestures vaguely with his hand, as if telling Dave he should go or at least look over there. Dave was tempted to tell Bro just to fuck off or at least pointedly ignore him. Bro could be very easily leading him into some kind of trap, like he so often did. Dave tensed for a moment, waiting for the inevitable attack, whether it come verbally from sick raps or physically in the case of a strife or a trap of some kind, but it never came.

 

Bro just gestured again and Dave decided that, shit, he might as well look.

 

That’s when he saw her, just for a second out of the corner of his eye. She was wearing a red dress and her hair was just an insane cascade of gentle obsidian waves. Delicately painted burgundy lips curved into a faint smile as she seemed to flit out into the crowd. Dave looked around for a second at the weirdly blank faces of the party guests and decided that, _fuck it,_ he was gonna go up and say hi at the very least. The girl looked like she was around the same age as him but like she’d been around for basically forever at the same time too.

 

Dave Strider strode into the crowd, looking for the girl in the red dress. There were plenty of girls at the party- there always were, mostly drawn to Bro like moths to a flame. Bro liked to flirt plenty with the girls, but Dave knew that he never actually took them up to his room. Only dudes ever went up there, to play video games. Or maybe his Bro was gay. Dave honestly didn’t know. For a guy who’d basically raised him, Bro was hella mysterious.

 

Also, on the mysterious list was this babe in the red dress. Dave followed the most likely path that she could’ve taken, wishing that he could just sniff her out like a goddamn bloodhound. _Who is this girl?_ He stopped, however, when he reached the door leading out. _Fuck. She probably left. Dammit. Way to miss your chance, Strider. If I even had a fucking chance._ Dave decided, though, that he wasn’t just going to let this go. He was going to talk to that babe in the red dress.

 

He opened the door and looked down the hallway. She was at the head of the stairs, just about to go down them. The girl in the red dress turned towards him for half a second and reached out her arm, beckoning him to follow her. Dave hesitated for half a second, as his stomach drew tight and his heart started hammering. He wondered if it was really safe to be following some random babe he’d never met before, if he’d wake up in a bathtub full of ice with a missing kidney and weird sores on his dick.

 

Or maybe he’d just get laid in the regular way. Little Strider quickly overrode his brain and he followed her, trying his best to look confident and chill and not overeager. He reached the head of the stairs himself, and looked down as she looked up at him about halfway down.

 

“Hey, you play a good game of hard to get.” Dave called out as he tried to close some of the distance between them.

 

She looked up at him, amused. “You’re gonna have to be faster than that to catch me, Dave!” She grinned and turned and started going back down the stairs.

 

_How the shit does she know my name?_

 

Dave practically ran down the stairs, loping over more than one stair at once. He’d been pretty curious about this mystery babe before she just said his name, before she spoke like she’d known him for a long time. _Do I know her somehow? Shit, I hardly meet anyone, except on Pesterchum. But I’ve seen pics of most of my best friends on there. And none of them look that damn good._

 

But there was something weirdly familiar about her now that he thought about it, which was strange to think about. But she was also a really hot chick who seemed at least a little interested in him, so he didn’t stop to consider the implications afterwards. He was too busy running down the stairs. He was gonna do this meet-up. He was gonna make it happen. Meeting this girl was gonna be so off the hook that it and the hook wouldn’t exist in the same universe.

 

He got to the door and opened it and there she was, but shit wasn’t quite right because she had fucking ram horns and slate-grey skin. And there were fucking fairy wings coming from her back. And weirdly, that made her only more beautiful and also, a million times more familiar. _I know you, mystery babe._

 

“Hi Dave.” The voice, so mysterious only a few moments ago became suddenly, achingly familiar.

 

“....” Dave knew her name- it was right on the tip of his tongue. He wanted to remember her name more than just about anything else in the world. _Why can’t I remember? And why does it seem like it’s the most important thing in the world to remember?_ But Dave Strider, the MC extraordinare, the turntable demigod, found himself at a total loss for words.

 

She crossed the distance between them and her arms wrapped around him and brought him close, into a tight hug and before he knew it, her mouth was on his and their tongues were all up into each other’s business and her taste was one that he’d tasted so many times before. Like apples and cinnamon and something that was just _her._ And it was the best and sweetest kiss he’d ever had, the most awesome kiss in all of paradox space.

 

And finally, _finally,_ he remembered her name.

 

“Hey, A-Meg.” Dave smiled at her as they finally parted, his forehead resting comfortably against hers, her giant ridiculous ram horns bumping up softly against him. His eyes went towards hers and he realized that she was crying, gently pink-stained tears rolling down her cheeks. “Hey. Why are you crying? Come on, it couldn’t have been that kiss. That kiss was fucking fire. In fact, I’m pretty sure that kiss just spontaneously lit the fuse of a bomb big enough to blow up the damn world.”

 

Aradia laughed slightly, but it was bittersweet. “Dave.” She kissed him again but softly and sweetly. “Oh, Dave, you don’t remember, do you?”

 

“Remember what? You? I do now. And trust me when I say I’m never gonna forget again.” But now that she spoke, Dave felt weirdly cold. And when he looked down, here was a huge red patch forming on his shirt. His eyes widened in sudden shock as his knees just as instantly went weak and he staggered, caught only by Aradia’s arms. And just like that, they were a motherfucking _Pieta,_ except that his relationship with Aradia was anything but motherly.

 

“Oh Dave.” Aradia held him close to her, her hand running through his hair. “I’m so sorry, Dave.” She looked at him. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.”

 

Dave remembered everything. The epic final battle. It wasn’t over yet. “Did we …. Can we?”

 

Aradia nodded solemly, though suddenly it was broken with a soft sob as tears continued running down her cheek. “Yes. We did.” She tried to collect herself and made herself smile for him. She took his hand and brushed it up against the cool skin of her face. “You did it. You finished the loop just before …” Aradia closed her eyes for a moment before reopening them again.

 

“Hey, it’s okay, babe.” Dave smiled faintly. “We made a good team, you and I.”

 

“Yeah, we did.” Aradia agreed with a tiny laugh that became a sob but finished as the big warm smile he remembered. “It was incredible, the time we had together.”

 

Dave slumped a little further and Aradia gently let him down onto the ground. His vision was starting to blur now and the stain on his shirt was rapidly becoming a pool. _Bullshit. I am not going to let you fuck off on my now, eyes. If I’m gonna fucking die, I’m gonna die with my eyes full of Megido._ It took just about all the strength he had, but he took off his shades and set them aside

 

“A-Meg?” He asked quietly. “Am I the real Dave?”

 

“You’re Dave.” Aradia answered firmly and softly kissed his forehead.

 

“Yeah, but is there a Dave that gets to live and be with you?” Dave asked again, quietly but insistently.

 

Aradia nodded quietly, even though tears were still running down her cheeks.

 

“Then why’re you here with me? I don’t get it …”

 

“Because I love you too. You’re Dave. And you saved me.” Aradia replied firmly. “And because nobody should ever have to be alone when they go.” She lay down next to him and wrapped her arm and a leg over him, seemingly indifferent to the pool of blood spreading out around them. “I love you, Dave Strider. And I’ll always remember what you did. And who you were.”

 

“Well, yeah, A-Meg.” Dave whispered, because that’s all he could do. “I’m Dave fucking Strider.” He couldn’t help but smile though. “I love you too. I hope that lucky bastard prime Dave makes you really happy, Aradia. Thank you. Thanks for being here.”

 

“Always.” Aradia replied and kissed his lips once more, but this time he barely had the strength to respond.

 

But the memory of her kiss was still on his lips when he died.


End file.
